With all the events going on around the estate and on the New Orleans I was not having the personal contacts with my crew that I wanted. They had become my family and I liked having them around, so I decided that every other day we would all gather together for the evening meal. This would give us a chance to be updated on what we all were doing and it also gave us a chance for us all to socialize together a bit. The meals were casual; most times we ate around a table in one of the dining rooms, sometimes we ate outdoors on one of the patios or balconies. We took turns on selecting the type of food we would eat and the dishes we would have. It was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed it.
The following day Kala, Reidecor, Lunnie, Kerabac and I boarded the TRITYTE to fly up to the DUSTEN to pick up Captain Maxette. Marranalis stayed behind to continue with the martial arts training. We arrived in the hanger where a large crowd had gathered. On a giant vid screen on one wall images played of Kala, Reidecor, Lunnie, Marranalis and myself in scenes from our banquet with Admiral Regeny. The words “Hero’s” and “TIBBY THE RESTORER” flowed across the screen and cheers and applause broke out as we opened the door and walked out onto the ramp. Captain Maxette walked up as the crowd cheered on, “Where is Sgt. Marranalis?” he said looking about.
“I regret we didn’t bring him with us. He’s attending to the training of the security guards and trainers today for me and Admiral Regeny. If I had known that this was going to happen I would have made sure he was with us. Perhaps we can bring him with us on our return tomorrow for everyone to see?”
“I think those onboard here would appreciate that” the Captain said. There were a few moments where the Captain heaped on praises for those of us on the mission saying that regretfully Sgt. Marranalis was unable to be here due to other duties but that on his return the next day Sgt. Marranalis would be there for those wishing to see him. Then he turned and entered the TRITYTE with us. I let him take the command chair in the control room and situated myself in one of the chairs behind him next to Kala. It wasn’t until after we had all settled in that I mentioned to him that he may want to contact his bridge and let them know we were flying to Nibaria and not to the estate.
With a look of surprise the Captain turned and looked at me and exclaimed, “Don’t tell me you bought the space yacht that Galetils was having built!? I’ve been dying to see that beauty!”
“Ok Captain,” I replied, “I won’t tell you, but we’ll be there in time for lunch.”
I was surprised at Captain Maxette’s reaction as we approached the NEW ORLEANS, being the Captain of one of the largest star ships in the Galaxy I would have expected a lesser reaction. However, from the moment she came into view until we docked in her forward hangar bay Captain Maxette was practically crawling into the view screen to get a better look.
“Incredible, she certainly is larger than any other yacht in the galaxy,” Captain Maxette exclaimed. “You would have to shuttle people between her and the DUSTEN, no way she’d fit in a hangar bay. Your hanger bays on her are pretty damn large. Outside of military ships and ship transports I don’t think I’ve ever seen bigger. You have two on her I understand, hangers that is.? Look at those lines, this ship is a real thing of beauty. What’s that name glowing on the bow, NEW ORLEANS, what’s that?”
“It’s the name I gave the ship,” I answered. “It’s the name of a city near my home on Earth. I thought I would name her as a reminder of a place I loved.”
“Ahh, I see,” said the Captain, clearly distracted by other vistas of the ship as they came into view.
After landing we were met by Orcpipin, who informed me that he had personally seen to all the arrangements of my requests, but he was still awaiting a GW pod message on the status of the crew passenger liner. Orcpipin led us on the tour, making sure to point out a few of the minor changes my crew and I had requested. I told him that I had noticed the name New Orleans had been added to the hull per my request and that I was pleased. With every bit of praise I gave Orcpipin he seemed to swell in stature a bit more; I was beginning to fear he soon would burst. The Captain seemed to be in total glory pointing from one thing to another and “oohing” and “aweing” about everything he saw and came in contact with, but when we reached the bridge I thought the man would have a coronary.
“This is unbelievable, it’s like a luxury war ship, this cannot be what I think, an RMFF! What’s going to power it?” Orcpipin related the explanation to the Captain that he had to us after which the Captain said, “Damn shame, what a huge leap forward that would have been. If we could have RMFF systems on our major war ships and protecting our space stations, it would bring the rebel worlds crawling back to the Federation begging for re-admittance. As it stands now you have a fully functional RMFF that has no power.” I made no mention to the Captain of how I planned to get around that one little problem of the power. The Captain was also amazed at the stock of munitions aboard and the weapons station.
“Galetils had this ship built like a warship only it looks like a luxury cruise liner. I thought the DUSTEN was overly opulent, but this ship puts the DUSTEN to shame.” Captain Maxette stated. “Who did you pick for Captain?”
I laughed, “Well if you’re available,” I began knowing full well he was not, “seriously though Captain I was hoping you might be able to recommend someone.”
“I’ll tell you Tibby I would be seriously tempted if I didn’t have the DUSTEN running through my blood,” the Captain said. “This is a ship any captain would be proud to fly. There is a man who I think would be good for the job, an excellent captain. He is ex-military but has a blemish on his record and was drummed out of the service, unjustly in my opinion. He severed gallantly in a number of run-ins with the rebel worlds but went afoul with one of the higher brass at headquarters. There was an incident on his ship, an explosion and fire, at the time he was in his quarters sleeping. At his hearing he was accused of not responding to calls to the bridge when the accident happened and that he failed to take appropriate actions once he was awakened and in charge. The funny thing is that none of his crew supported the claims, nor was there any material evidence to support the claims either. In the end he opted to resign with honors rather than be dragged through the mud. It hurt a lot of us that he didn’t fight it. Personally I think he would have won in the end. He was well liked by his crew and I would not be surprised, should you hire him.”
“I’d like to meet him, what is his name?” I asked.
“Stonbersa,” the Captain said, “last I heard he was still on Megelleon looking for work on any large ship he could find. But most of the larger ships have lifetime captains and until a new ship gets built or a captain dies there are few openings. Even when the old captain dies his successor is usually his first officer. If you like I will see if I can contact him for you.”
“I would be most appreciative of that Captain.” I said.
“I know of this one, this Captain Stonbersa, “Orcpipin said, “he once brought the DOEKO here for repairs after the battle at Potaeria. He is a genuinely nice man, refused to leave the ship during repairs like many captains do, did his own inspections but was never harsh or rude if he found something amiss, but still he was firm about getting things right, even the workers here liked him.”
The Captain went to the communication console and turned to me “Do you mind if I try and reach him now?”
A few minutes later a brown skinned man with snow white hair appeared on the screen, “Captain Maxette! What a surprise, it’s good to see you, you old Calagee. To what do I owe this call?”
“Captain Stonbersa, old friend, it’s delightful to see you looking so well. The DUSTEN arrived in orbit a few days ago and I was hoping we might be able to meet while I was here.”
“In orbit, well unless they did a bang up remodeling job on the DUSTEN I would have to say looking at my screen image that you currently are NOT on the DUSTEN.” Stonbersa said with a grin.
“You are so right,” Maxette replied, “but you will never guess j
ust where I am.”
“Granted, you are right there,” Stonbersa answered, “I cannot think of a ship that has a bridge like what I am seeing.”
“I’m standing on the bridge of the NEW ORLEANS Space Yacht next to none other than Tibby the Recoverer on the space yacht formerly being built for Galetils of Astamagota.”
“You lucky Calagee, I’d give my right foot to see the inside of that ship!” Stonbersa exclaimed
“Really,” Maxette said, “and just what would you give to be captain of it?”
“Are you kidding?” Stonbersa responded, “I’d give both legs and ride around in motorized body scooter for a job like that.”
Captain Maxette laughed, “Well don’t go having any amputations just yet. Tibby is looking for a captain and I tossed your name into the pile, he would like to meet with you.”
“Don’t kid me with something like this! This is not some practical joke is it? You could give me a heart attack if it is.” Stonbersa had a shocked look on his face.
“Totally serious my friend,” Captain Maxette responded. “Tibby come here a minute so Captain Stonbersa can see I’m not leading him on.”
I walked over beside Captain Maxette and looked into the screen and for a moment looking at Stonbersa. I got the idea of what I must have looked like several times since my incredible adventure began, the look of shock and disbelief on his face said it all.
“Honored Citizen Tibby the Re-Recoverer,” Stonbersa stammered, “I am deeply honored.”
I laughed, “Don’t be too honored yet, you haven’t seen the ship and I haven’t made you an offer. How soon can you be available for a trip to Nibaria to see the ship and for an interview? “
“Ahh well, I can be available any time that suits you.” Captain Stonbersa said.
“Good to hear Captain, pack an overnight bag, I’m having the TRITYTE fly back there to pick you up. They should have you back here about the time that Captain Maxette is ready to leave this evening, unless,” I turned to Captain Maxette, “would you be available to spend the night on the New Orleans and go back to the DUSTEN in the morning?”
“I think that can be arranged” Captain Maxette replied “I’ll just need to make a call to the first officer on the DUSTEN to let them know.”
“Okay then Captain Stonbersa,” I said, “I’ll have Lt. Reidecor provide you with instructions where to meet the TRITYTE and we’ll have you here by dinner this evening. I’m sure you and Captain Maxette will enjoy being able to see one and another as well.”
As I walked away from the view screen and over to Reidecor, “Contact Marranalis and tell him you’re bringing him back here with you. Kerabac and Lunnie your services are required aboard the TRITYTE for the trip. Kala and I will be staying here until your return.”
Since a large number of the quarters on the ship had already been furnished it was no problem finding one of the more luxurious suites for the Captain. Unfortunately we had no major domo or serving staff, but Orcpipin was able to quickly round a few persons to provide some limited services. Since Nibaria was a toxic planet with nitrogen compound in its atmosphere; few humans ever went to the surface. Those that did had to wear sealed suits and breathing gear, so all the staff were Nibarians. It was strange to see these short tree barked looking people scurrying around a ship they were unfamiliar with trying to see to our needs, never the less they were a most pleasant people.
While we waited for the TRITYTE to make the several hour round trip to Megelleon and back we took Captain Maxette to one of the nicer lounges on the NEW ORLEANS for some drinks and conversation. Now that his buzz about the NEW ORLEANS was dying down he was interested to hear our story of what happened after we had left the DUSTEN. He said that, as I had predicted, a large portion of the Bunem fleet showed up on the long range scanners not long after we had departed. As I suggested they immediately sent off a message to the Bunem fleet welcoming them to join in the hunt for the TRITYTE. The Captain said that at first the Bunemnites were confused by the offer but quickly put two and two together and came up with the exact conclusion we had hoped for. True to my prediction they accepted the offer for some of their officers to come over to the DUSTEN to “coordinate efforts” and brought a larger contingency than normally would be considered for such an operation. The DUSTEN played hosts to the Bunemnites officers and they came and tried hard to appear causal as they snooped about the ship just in case the Solbidyum was onboard, but of course it wasn’t and by the time they realized it, it was too late for them to go chasing after the TRITYTE. In the meantime the other half of their fleet was still chasing after the GW pod not knowing that it was a decoy. With no way to communicate with them they would continue until the GW Pod ran out of fuel and they caught it, or until their own supplies got so low they had to turn around and come home. Either way they would have exhausted a lot of resources for nothing. Captain Maxette still was elated by the event and laughed hardly about it.
It was late afternoon when the TRITYTE returned with Captain Stonbersa. The man was so excited about the NEW ORLEANS he could barely keep his composure. A meal had been prepared but Stonbersa barely ate and was asking one question after another about the ship. Meanwhile, Captain Maxette was trying to relate to Stonbersa the details of what he was now calling the “Tibby Solbidyum Shuffle Event,” and how we’d gotten one over on the Bunemnites. Both were talking animatedly to each other and neither of them really noting that the other was not paying attention to what they were saying. Kala and I just sat there watching them and smiling. Finally, the meal finished we took Captain Stonbersa to the Bridge to start his tour, even though Captain Maxette had previously seen this part of the ship he accompanied us, all the time both of still carrying on their conversation from dinner. However, when we finally got to the bridge and Captain Stonbersa set foot on it, all became quiet. Stonbersa actually started to weep as he walked about the bridge looking at each station and touching each item as though they were the rarest and precious items in the universe. I knew right then there could be no one else better suited to be the Captain of the NEW ORLEANS.
Captain Stonbersa reaction when he found out about the Reverse Mass Force Field was even more profound than Captain Maxette’s was, “Give us time,” he said, “and I’ll bet we find a way to power her.” I didn’t tell him just then about our idea to use the Solbidyum power from the TRITYTE to power it.
We got as far as showing him the engine rooms that evening and told him the rest of the tour would have to wait till morning as it was now late in the evening. He was shown to the Captains suite on the ship which was opulently laid out with rich woodworked interiors and large view ports looking out into space. The room had an almost Victorian look to it rich drapes adorned the view ports, there was an air of propriety about it that made one feel both somber yet relaxed at the same time. I think if I had offered him the job right at that moment he would have taken the job for no pay at all just to be on the ship.
The next morning Reidecor, Marranalis, and Lunnie left to return Captain Maxette to the DUSTEN, and then to return with Piesew for his interview. Since the trip was within the same solar system a navigator was not required and Kerabac stayed aboard the NEW ORLEANS and assisted in with the touring of Captain Stonbersa. I was impressed with Stonbersa and could quickly see why he was so endearing to so may, I found it hard to believe that this man had been drummed out of the service for dereliction of duty. Finally, about midafternoon I casually asked, “So Captain, do you feel like you would be interested in being the Captain of the New Orleans?”
“Oh my yes,” he said, “Being captain of this ship would be a dream come true. This is probably the finest ship in the universe. I would be a fool not to desire to serve on it.”
“I would be interested in having you as captain of this ship, what kind of salary are you looking for?” I asked.
I could see him struggling trying to come up with a number ,“How about this, I’ll pay you ten times what you were getting as a Captain with the Fede
ration!”
“You are joking with me,” he said wide eyed, “that’s too much.”
“Well that’s my offer, take it or leave it.”
“I’ll take it!” he said, practically jumping up and down as he did.
“Ok, captain,” I said, “I need you to take command as soon as possible, with the exception of my own personal staff for my quarters; you will be responsible for acquiring the crew for the ship. Orcpipin may be able to give you some assistance, he knows a passenger liner that is letting it’s crew go due to extensive long term repairs the ship will be going through. There should be a lot of people available that we can acquire quickly, but the choice is yours. I would like that as many of the people on the bridge and engineering are people with past military experience as possible.”
“I understand Tibby and as for when I can start, would now be too soon?” Stonbersa said, “I was temporarily renting a place on Megelleon as I contemplated what I was going to do next. I haven’t even unpacked my possessions there. I can send someone back to pick them up for me. I would much prefer to stay here now and begin getting things in order to fly on your wishes.”
“Right Captain,” I said. “There is one other thing I need to discuss with you, this is to be confidential and the fewer people who know the better. It has to do with the Reverse Mass Force Field generator and the power requirements.”
Later that evening the TRITYTE returned with Piesew and the rest of my crew. My original plan was for Piesew to be the house major domo for the Estate, but when I brought it up to him he immediately told me he didn’t feel anywhere close to being up to the task. However, he did mention that he would be interested in the job of major domo for my quarters on the NEW ORLEANS, if I was willing. He did know of a good man to take the position at the estate, someone he had worked and trained under and who according to Piesew was the most honorable and honest man he had ever known. Piesew also said the man would probably be willing to leave his current position, “even though the man had too much honor to say anything negative about his employer, he was less than pleased working for his current employer.” Piesew said that if I was interested he could arrange for me to talk to his former mentor within a few days.
Solbidyum Wars Saga Book 1: Battle of the New Orleans Page 22
